


Take me away to some place real

by Turmalina



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Gen, Goodbyes, Heartache, Missing Scene, Post-Season/Series 02, Pre-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:07:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23353666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turmalina/pseuds/Turmalina
Summary: A missing scene post 02x23. Mac quits Phoenix and decides to leave all behind. Jack gives him a ride to the airport (against his own will). But a papa bear will do anything to his kid feel a least a little bit less hurting.
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 18





	Take me away to some place real

**Author's Note:**

> So, hey! This is my first fanfiction ever (although I follow this fandom since 2018), please feel free to comment and give suggestions! 
> 
> The title is from the song "Home", from Gabrielle Aplin.

Jack wasn't happy. Not at all.

When he stopped at LAX parking lot, with a stubborn-silent blond kid in the passenger seat refusing to look at him, he was beyond mad.

He wasn't mad at Mac, although his partner had done a brilliant job trying to get Jack yelling at him. Mac was just hurting inside, and he wanted a reason to let it all out; Mac wanted a fight in which he could yell, scream; he wanted to hurt someone and get rid of his own hurt. Since he walked away from Phoenix, hell, since he discovered that good old Oversight was his damm father, there were this pain burning behind his eyes, hands always clenched firmly and jaw set so tightly that Jack was afraid he would get a headache later.

Jack was mad because someone had hurt his partner; actually, someone had abandoned Mac, left him for good for more than fifteen years, and now returned - completely by accident - just to let his kid know that Mac hadn’t bee nothing more than a puppet in a string for all this time. And not a random someone - his partner’s father. 

And, for the worst of it, James, the father in question here, hadn’t even been ashamed. Or regretful. He acted like it was any other common day: “Hey, son! Haven’t seen you in years! But it doesn’t matter because I was watching you this whole time! Not a big deal, right?!”

For Mac, Jack was sure, it had been painful as a fit in his gut. And, because Mac didn’t work with someone he didn’t trust, he had quit his work at Phoenix. It was okay for Jack; just because Mac wasn’t his partner anymore, this didn’t mean he wasn’t his friend anymore - or family for the matter. He would never not be his kid, the young man he swore to protect and love.

But then, Mac decided to leave. Leave as in leave L. A. for an indeterminate amount of time without Jack. 

Why, for the love of God, Mac wanted to run across the world without any kind of protection, despite all enemies - Murdoc, the Ghost, even Walsh - waiting just for the right moment to put those dirty hands at the boy? Why would prompt Mac to go on his own, considering that he and Jack hadn’t been apart since they met at the Army? Of course, it had been times when Mac would go on solo missions and Jack would take his time in a last time trip to Texas and visit his momma. And once in a while Jack would be called for consulting in other’s team mission and Mac would spend a lot of time at the labs, with Bozer or Sparky for company. But a long period of time - indeterminate - apart; this wasn’t even in Jack Dalton’s dictionary. Jack would even feel better if Bozer or Riley accompanied Mac, but he had denied any company. 

It had hurted Jack too, Mac refusing him. But, despite all monologue going at full speed in his mind, Jack also knew why Mac needed to leave. Why he wanted to go on his own.

“Okay” said Jack, turning down the car’s ignition and taking a deep breath. Mac still wasn’t looking at him. Instead, the boy had started to figdet nervously with the bag at his lap. “Last chance, kiddo. I can get home and a go bag before your flight. Just say it.”

“Jack.” Mac’s tone was stone-shaped. And tired. “We talked about this already. I’m going. And just me.”

Yes, they talked. Many times, until talking turned into arguing and Bozer had to step in.

“Well, you could have changed your mind in the way here.”

“Well, I haven’t.” 

They sat for a moment in silence. Jack could feel his own heartbeat, loud as a thunder inside his body. 

Mac broke the silence. “I don’t want you to be mad at me, Jack. I want you to understand that I have to go on my own.”

“And I already told you, I respect your decision, you’re an adult and can do whatever pleases you; doesn’t need my permission or Bozer’s to do anything or go anywhere, I understand” Jack takes a deep breath again, “but you can’t ask me to be happy with this.”

Jack wanted to rant again about all the dangerous paths Mac might take in, or all people who wanted him dead, but, before he could even open his mouth, Mac was speaking.

“I know you’re not happy, Jack! You’ve made it clear since I told you about traveling alone!” Mac’s face was hard and his words were clipped with anger - again, that hurt was taking everything inside Mac and turning into something heavy. “But you said yourself, I’m not a kid. I can take care of myself, I’m a government agent, for God’s sake!, I can make my own decisions, I can decide for myself, and you are not…!”

And you are not my father. For so long, seven years of friendship that could be easily a lifetime, Jack had played a role that wasn’t quite his, no matter how much he wanted to. They were friends, partners, brothers. But Jack always made sure his boy was safe, warm and happy, job or not. He worried about him every time Mac was out of his sight and stayed with him through long nights with nightmares shaking Mac wake - bombs, deaths, losses, abandonments. Mac had found a place at older man’s heart that didn’t belong to anyone else - Riley, for sure, has her own place of honor, but it wasn’t like this. 

Jack opened his mouth again, but no words came out. Just kept looking through the windshield, to the airport building not far away.

“I need this, Jack. Okay? I need it.” 

There was a pleading in Mac’s voice now, and when Jack looked, his partner was looking back, eyes with tears swimming in, a dark blue full of pain and sorrow. Mac was hurting, and Jack wanted nothing more than hug him, hold him saying I’m sorry, I care for you, you’re my boy until the kid would finally relax and accept the relieve and love someone was willing to give him. But, instead, he would only ground Mac in this city, making him feel obligated to stay when what Mac wanted was to be as far away as possible without leaving this planet. 

Jack clasped his hand at his partner’s shoulder, giving him a light squeeze. “Ok, let’s get going so.” 

Together, they entered the airport - by that time of the day, almost night, Jack hadn’t expect to have a crowd inside, and he was right. The LAX was familiar as their favorite groceries shop, but, in that very moment, both men were sad to be there: one would leave, and the other would be staying behind. 

Mac did the check-in and dispatched his baggage (a lonely bag with some spare clothes and personal things). Then, holding his boarding pass tightly, he turned to the older man, both standing in the middle of the way to Mac’s boarding gate. 

“That’s it.” Under the close examination of his partner, Mac looked even more nervous than before. He wouldn’t look at Jack and his whole body seemed to vibrate slightly with energy. His breathing was a kind of shallow, as if he had run a marathon. “Uhm, I should go.”

“Hold your horses there, man” Jack stopped him before Mac could bolt away. “Ain’t leaving your old man like this, are you?”

“Jack…”

“Hey. Hey, look at me.” Finally, Mac upped his head until he was able to look right into Jack eyes. “That’s better. Mac, you’re my partner, and my friend and my brother. It doesn’t matter if you’re not at Phoenix anymore or you’re not in this city anymore, okay? This doesn’t change anything between us.”

“Except that I’m leaving you.” the kid seemed guilty saying those words, and Jack quickly turned them.

“But I ain’t leaving you, kiddo. You are just taking this too long trip that will make me turn into an old man with grey hair for worrying about you.”

Mac let out a muffled laugh. “Your hair’s already grey.”

“And you can’t help yourself and remember me this every single opportunity you have, don’t ya?” This time, the laugh was genuine and Jack’s heart warmed up a little seeing his boy smiling again. And when that same smile threatened to disappear from Mac’s face, Jack just threw his arms around the kid and held on. 

For a moment, Mac didn’t react, then, slowly, he brought his own hands to clasp the back of Jack’s jacket and tucked his head in his partner’s shoulder. The older man was quite aware of the precious cargo he held, so Jack started to sooth his kid’s back with one hand and putting the other in the back of his head. 

“You stay safe, won’t you, kiddo? Don’t get in any trouble your not worth it. Remember to eat, because Bozer will be really sad if you came back weighting less than you are now. Take some pictures too, I bet you’re going to really nice places and memories are never enough.” A shy sniffle came from Mac. “And remember, kiddo, your family is always here for you. We ain’t leaving you.”

“Are you letting Riley fuss you over?” Mac asked quietly. “You know she’s gonna be worried I’m not there for you.”

“I will” he promise, and then noted the second part of his partner’s sentence. “You doesn’t have to be here physically to be with me, Mac.” Another sniffle. “Oh, boy.”

“I don’t wanna say goodbye” he whispered. If Jack’s heart it wasn’t broken, in that moment it shattered into pieces. When he spoke next time, his voice was tight with emotion.

“You don’t have to. But you can say… uhmm... how about ‘until we see each other again?’”

“Okay.”

Jack hugged him tighter, Mac seeming to held to the embrace for a longer amount of time Jack expected him to. Then, the moment was over and Mac took a step back, wiping any tears left from his face, looking no less sad, but a least a little bit calm. In that moment, Jack could only see the same boy he met at the Army - impossible young, in need of protection and love. The man blinked and there was his partner, adult and looking for… freedom. From his own past.

“Okay. So… until we see each other again?”

Jack held up a smile he hoped wasn’t sad as he felt.

“Until we see each other again, buddy.”

And then Mac turned to his boarding gate, leaving Jack to look at his partner until he disappeared in a black dot, lost among other people. The man stood there for a moment, unable to do anything else beyond feel his heart aching with a kind of pain he wasn’t familiar with. The moment he manage to draw a breath again, Jack turned and left the airport.

Back to his car, still at the parking lot, Jack sent a message to both Bozer and Riley, who sure were waiting for new on his friend - with a hope that he had dropped his plans and decided to stay. Within two minutes from news, Bozer called.

“Hey, so… he left.”

“Yes, Bozer.”

“Okay, okay… so, do you wanna come here and stay for dinner?” The words ‘I think you shouldn’t be alone right now’ remain unspoken.

“Thanks Bozer, but I will pass. Maybe tomorrow?”

“No problems, man! Just don’t forget - you’re my friend too.”

Driving through the city, Jack couldn’t stop seeing Mac leaving. Couldn't stop recalling their discussion at home, Mac quitting. When Jack got to his apartment, he didn’t even recall the drive until there. Actually, he just became aware of himself when he stood at his kitchen, with a glass of whiskey in one hand, looking absently ahead. 

A light night breeze flew inside the living room as Jack took a seat in his couch, without even turning on the TV. The man took a sip from the glass and stayed there all night, wondering how in hell he would live the next days - weeks, months - without his kid. 

\---------

“'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone  
Is where you go when you're alone  
Is where you go to rest your bones  
It's not just where you lay your head  
It's not just where you make your bed  
As long as we're together, does it matter where we go?”

Home, Gabrielle Aplin


End file.
